On-line, interactive frequency and award redemption program

ABSTRACT

An on-line frequency award program is disclosed. A user may access the program on-line and may browse a product catalog for shopping. The user may electronically place an order, upon which the program automatically checks the user&#39;s credit and electronically issues a purchase order to the supplying company. The program also calculates award points, updates the award account of enrolled users, and communicates that number of awarded points to the user. Enrolled users may browse through an award catalog and electronically redeem an amount of awarded points towards an award. The program then electronically places an award redeeming order with the fulfillment house and updates the user&#39;s award account.

[0001] The application is a continuation application of application Ser.No. 09/441,144, filed Nov. 12, 1999 which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 09/105,227, filed Jun. 25, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No.6,009,412, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/572,017,filed Dec. 14, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,870.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates to frequency and award redemption program.More particularly, the present invention relates to an on-line,interactive frequency and award redemption program which is fullyintegrated.

[0004] 2. Description of Related Art

[0005] Frequency programs have been developed by the travel industry topromote customer loyalty. An example of such a program is a “frequentflyer” program. According to such a program, when a traveler books aflight, a certain amount of “mileage points” are calculated by a formulausing the distance of the destination as a parameter. However, themileage points are not awarded until the traveler actually takes theflight.

[0006] When a traveler has accumulated sufficient number of mileagepoints, he may redeem these points for an award chosen from a specificlist of awards specified by the program. Thus, for example, the travelermay redeem the points for a free flight ticket or a free rental car. Inorder to redeem the accumulated points, the traveler generally needs torequest a certificate, and use the issued certificate as payment for thefree travel.

[0007] While the above program may induce customer loyalty, it has thedisadvantage that the selection of prizes can be made only from thelimited list of awards provided by the company. For example, a travelermay redeem the certificate for flights between only those destinationsto which the carrier has a regular service. Another disadvantage is thatthe customer generally needs to plan ahead in sufficient time to orderand receive the award certificate.

[0008] According to another type of frequency and award program, acredit instrument is provided and credit points are accumulated insteadof the mileage points. In such programs, bonus points are awarded byusing a formula in which a price paid for merchandise is a parameter.Thus, upon each purchase a certain number of bonus points are awarded,which translate to dollar credit amount. According to these programs,the customer receives a credit instrument which may be acceptable bymany enrolled retailers, so that the selection of prizes available isenhanced. An example of such a program is disclosed in E.P.A. 308,224.However, while such programs may enhance the selection of prizes, thereis still the problem of obtaining the credit instrument for redeemingthe awarded points. In addition, the enrollee must allow for processingtime before the bonus points are recorded and made available asredeemable credit. Thus, the immediacy effect of the reward is lackingin these conventional incentive programs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] In view of the above, the present invention is advantageous inthat it provides an on-line, interactive incentive program which isfully integrated.

[0010] The disclosed invention is also advantageous in that it providesan on-line access to product information, product purchases using anon-line electronic order form, award catalogs, and award redemptionusing an on-line electronic redemption forms.

[0011] Another advantage of the subject invention is that it awardsbonus points immediately upon purchase of merchandise.

[0012] The present invention is further advantageous in that it providesbonus points which are immediately made available for redemption.

[0013] Another advantage of the present invention is that it allows thecustomer to select a prize immediately upon the award of the bonuspoints.

[0014] A further advantage of the present invention is that it allows acustomer to order a prize and redeem the awarded points towards theordered prize immediately upon the award of the bonus points, thusenhancing the immediacy effect of the reward program.

[0015] Yet another advantage of the present invention is that itprovides an electronic sign-up form for on-line signing up by users.

[0016] The above and other advantages are provided by the disclosedinvention which includes provisions for access over the internet. Upongaining of an access, the customer is able to browse through amerchandize catalog, an award catalog, view the bonus points availablefor redemption in the customer's award bonus account, and getinformation about the products for purchase, the program and thecustomer's account. The program also enables the customer to ordermerchandize on-line, order prizes on-line and redeem awarded pointson-line. Accordingly, the selection of available prizes is expanded bythe merchants who join the program, and the bonus award is madeinstantly redeemable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment withreference to the drawings, in which:

[0018]FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the access part of the program ofthe preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0019]FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the product selection and on-linepurchase part of the program of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

[0020]FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the membership part of the programof the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0021]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the award redemption part of theprogram of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an enrollment routine.

[0023]FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an exemplary routine to determinethe number of points the user is short of for redeeming a particularproduct.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0024] The program according to the present invention will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1-5. FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the accesspart of the program. In FIG. 1, 10 indicates access via an on-lineprovider such as AOL™, CompuServe™ etc. On the other hand, 20 indicatesa direct access to the Internet, such as via Netscape™. Upon gaining anaccess to the internet, 30, the program proceeds to a selection menu 40.Depending on the user's choice, from the selection menu 40 the programmay proceed to PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE 100A or PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300.Alternatively the user may choose to exit the program via EXIT, 50.

[0025] It should be noted from the outset that in the preferredembodiment of the disclosed invention, the user may back-track from anyparticular point in the program. Notably, the user is able to return toselection menu 40 from any part of the program. This being statedgenerally, it will be appreciated that this feature is applicable to thefurther program steps of the preferred embodiment described below and,therefore, it will not be repeated in the following description.

[0026] In FIG. 1, PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, is a homepage of aparticular type of products. For example, PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, maybe a homepage for men's shirts. In such an example, the PRODUCT AHOMEPAGE, 100A, may include icons to allow the user to selectinformation regarding, for example, different brands, price ranges,types (dress shirts, sport shirts, etc.), and thereafter review theproducts available relating to the particular selection in a manner muchsimilar to reviewing a printed product catalogue.

[0027] Alternatively PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, may identify a particularbrand. In such an example PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, may include icons toallow the user to review information regarding particular products soldby this particular brand.

[0028] In the preferred embodiment, the capability to view informationregarding the various products is enhanced by providing the user withvarious “browsing” options, generally implemented in the form of icons.This is depicted in FIG. 1 as BROWSING OPTION 60. Thus, for example, theuser may choose to list the products alphabetically, list the brandsalphabetically, or use a search engine to create a group of productswhich fit the user's requirements. Any conventional search engine may beused for this purpose. Such a search engine can be implemented foraccepting a boolean string, or by collecting the user's response to aninquiry set. The fields for the search engine may include, for example,key words, brands, price range, material etc.

[0029] In FIG. 1, BROWSING OPTION 60 is shown at the same level asPRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, to indicate that in the preferred embodimentthe user may go directly to view the products information, or arrange anew list of products according to the user's needs. However, it will beappreciated by those skilled in the art, that other arrangements arepossible. For example, BROWSING OPTION, 60, can be inserted betweenSELECTION MENU 40 and PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE 100A so that the user may haveto enter his preferred way of viewing the products before the user isable to select the products' homepage.

[0030] In the Figures, PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, is depicted as multiplepages. This depiction signifies two features of the program of thepresent invention. The first feature, is that PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A,may include more than one page. Thus, if a large amount of informationneeds to be included in PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, the homepage mayactually comprise several pages and the user will be provided with ascroll option so as to be able to scroll over the information pages.Another feature is that from the selection menu 40 the user may be ableto choose other products homepage such as, for example, PRODUCT BHOMEPAGE, PRODUCT C HOMEPAGE, etc., which are depicted impliedly in thedrawings as pages following PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A.

[0031] In a similar manner, PROGRAM HOMEPAGE, 300, is shown in theFigures as multiple pages. (It will be understood by those skilled inthe art that PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300 is the main internet address for theincentive program system). This depiction also signifies two features ofthe program of the present invention. The first feature, is that PROGRAMHOMEPAGE, 300, may comprise multiple pages with a scrolling feature toallow the user to scroll for viewing the information contained in thepages. The second feature is that several incentive programs, orincentive level programs may be available for access from the selectionmenu 40. For example, several different programs may be accessible, eachprogram being managed by a different incentive company. Alternatively,or in addition, several incentive level programs may be accessible fromthe selection menu 40.

[0032] In the case of several incentive level programs, restrictions maybe imposed for accessibility to the various incentive level programs.For example, a particular incentive company may manage three incentiveprograms: white, silver and gold. The white incentive program can beaccessible for enrollment by any approved user. On the other hand, theincentive company may allow limited access to the silver and goldincentive programs for providing information only, while enrollment maybe restricted only to those users who satisfy set requirements. Theserequirements may relate, for example, to a certain level of purchasingwithin a given period, credit rating, gross salary, special companypromotion program, etc. As in the above, while these various featureshave been described herein, they are depicted in the drawing simply byshowing multiple pages following PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300.

[0033] If a user selects PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE 100A, the program proceedsto a selection menu 110, shown in FIG. 2. Incidentally, the routinesshown in FIG. 2 are depicted to proceed from the routine of FIG. 1 bythe designation Ai. This designation is to alert the reader that thisparticular routine is generic to all the other products homepage, suchas PRODUCT B HOMEPAGE, PRODUCT C HOMEPAGE, etc. Therefore, while thedescription provided herein relates to PRODUCT A HOMEPAGE, 100A, this isonly for demonstration purposes and it will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that similar processing would follow upon selectionof a different product homepage. With continued reference to FIG. 2,selection menu 110 provides the user with the following options: proceedto PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300, proceed to PRODUCT i HOMEPAGE, 100 i, (i beingany of the number of available products homepage) or proceed to ORDERFORM 130. Alternatively, the user may change the list of products bychoosing the appropriate browsing option or using the search engine tocreate a new list of products (not shown). Upon selection of PRODUCT iHOMEPAGE, 100 i, the program reverts to step Ai, i.e., to SELECTION MENU110. Upon selection of PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300, the program proceeds tostep B shown in FIG. 3, which will be described later.

[0034] If the user decides to purchase an item, the program proceeds toORDER FORM 130 and the user is prompted to electronically provideentries to the appropriate queries in the order form. Thereupon, acommunication link is established and the program performs a CREDITCHECK routine, 140, to verify the availability of funds for purchase.

[0035] At this juncture, a particular feature of the program of thepresent invention will be described. As noted above and shown in FIG. 1,the user may access the internet using an on-line provider or aninternet direct access. If the user is accessing the internet via anon-line provider, his credit information (account number, type of creditcard etc.) is available directly from the on-line provider. Accordingly,in performing the CREDIT CHECK routine 140, the information needed forthe credit check can be obtained from the on-line provider.Alternatively, if the user gained access via an internet direct method,the CREDIT CHECK routine 140 may provide an inquiry screen requestingthe user to enter his credit information.

[0036] A related feature of the present invention is that when the userenters ORDER FORM 130 from a particular product homepage describing aparticular product, it is very likely that the user wishes to purchasethat particular product. Therefore, the relevant information regardingthe product can be read from the product's homepage and pasted at theappropriate positions in the ORDER FORM 130. Thus, the user will onlyhave to enter information specific to options such as size, color,quantity, etc.

[0037] At step 130, certain predetermined information is striped offfrom the completed order form and sent to the credit check 140. Suchinformation may be, for example, credit card number and dollar amount.This is because much of the information included in the order form isirrelevant to the person's credit, and the credit institution may beunable to handle the extra information. Furthermore, sending the leastamount of information would expedite the credit check.

[0038] If the CREDIT CHECK routine 140 result is negative, in step 150Nthe user is provided with a message to that effect. The program may thenprompt the user to enter another credit card number or to exit. However,if the CREDIT CHECK routine 140 result is positive, in step 150P theprogram proceeds to establish a communication link and places a PRODUCTORDER, 160, with the product company. As shown in FIG. 2, in thepreferred embodiment PRODUCT ORDER 160 is placed by electronic meanssuch as e-mail or facsimile so as to render the program of the presentinvention fully integrated in an interactive on-line system; however,the ORDER FORM 160 can alternatively be place by conventional means bysimply printing and mailing the ORDER FORM 160 to the product company.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 2, while the communication link is establishedto the product company, the program also proceeds to the FREQUENCYDATABASE, 170. In FREQUENCY DATABASE 170 the user's information ischecked against the database of enrolled users. If it is determined thatthe user is an enrolled user, 180E, the program proceeds to step 190 tocalculate the award points according to a preprogrammed formula.Thereafter the program proceeds to add the points to the enrolled user'saccount, 200, and display the account information and the added pointsto the user, 210. From this point, the program may return to ORDER FORM130, to step Ai, to PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300 to view the awards catalog (notshown in FIG. 2) or proceed to SELECTION MENU, 40, (not shown in FIG.2).

[0040] The preferred embodiment includes a particular feature wherein inaddition to displaying the points added to the account, the programincludes a routine to display a selected award or product, and thenumber of points the user is short of in order to receive that award orproduct. For example, during particular periods certain awards orproducts may be designated as under a “special program”. Thus, duringthose periods, the award would require a reduced number of points and/orthe product would be available under special favorable terms. The usermay be notified of that fact to thereby entice the user to purchaseadditional products in order to qualify for the “special program” terms.

[0041] In order to implement the “special program,” the informationregarding the award/product needs to be read. The number of pointsrequired to redeem the particular qualifying award is then fetched.Similarly, the user's account is accessed and the number of points inthe user account is fetched. The number of points read from the user'saccount is subtracted from the number of points read from the awardinformation and the result is displayed as the number of points the useris short of to redeem the particular qualified award. An exemplary flowchart is provided in FIG. 6.

[0042] On the other hand, if in step 170 it was determined that the useris a new, unenrolled user, 180N, the program proceeds to step 220 tocalculate the award points according to the preprogrammed formula.Thereafter, the program proceeds to step 230, wherein a message is sentto the user identifying how many points he will earn should he enroll inthe program. Step 230 also inquires whether the user is interested injoining the program. Accordingly, step 230 may be in a form of a messagesuch as, for example, “By enrolling in the incentive program you willearn [X] points for purchasing the [insert the item purchased]. Thesepoints may be redeemed toward exciting awards. Are you interested inenrolling or viewing the award catalog? Y/N.”

[0043] If in step 240 the user selects NO in response to step 230, theprogram proceeds to ORDER FORM 130 or to process Ai (not shown), whichproceeds to SELECTION MENU 110. Alternatively, after receiving NO instep 240 process may continue to SELECTION MENU 40. At step 240, if itis determined that the user would like to sign up with the award program(join), the program proceeds to step 250 which is a sign up routine. Anyconventional sign up routine may be used at this stage of processing. Atthe end of the sign up routine, the program can return to point Ai, orto the purchase order form. The user may sign off from any of theselocations.

[0044] For illustration purposes, a general flow of an enrollmentroutine for signing up is shown in FIG. 5. This routine may be enteredfrom many different places in the program, e.g., after making apurchase, after reviewing information regarding the program, etc.Accordingly, the beginning of the routine of FIG. 5 is shown “floating.”

[0045] At step 600 the user is prompted either to enter a credit cardaccount number, 610, or to indicate that he wishes to use the sameaccount used to access the internet or to purchase an item, in whichcase the account number is obtained from within the program, 620. (Itshould be recognized that the user's name can also be obtainedinternally from the on-line access program.) At 630 the user is promptedto enter a personal identification code, which can generally be a fourletter/number code. At 640 the user is prompted to enter his choice ofmailing address—the address indicated on the order form, 660—or adifferent address, 650. (A different address can be entered in the orderform, for example, when purchasing a present to be mailed to therecipient). At 670 the program creates a new account in the database. InFIG. 2, steps 190 and 220 may be combined and the awards pointcalculated before reaching step 170. That is, upon obtaining a positivecredit check at step 150P, the program can proceed to calculate theaward points before proceeding to step 170. Then after performing step180, process can proceed either to step 200, when it is determined thatthe user is an enrolled user (180E), or to step 230, when it isdetermined that the user is not an enrolled user (180N).

[0046] In the description of the preferred embodiment, the term productalso refers to a gift certificate. The following examples are providedin order to make this feature clearer to the reader. When a useraccesses the various product homepages, the user has the option topurchase a gift certificate rather than purchasing an actual product.The gift certificate can be directed to a particular merchant, aparticular manufacturer/brand, or to all the products available throughthe program.

[0047] In the preferred embodiment the gift certificate is sentelectronically to a computer designated by the user to be printed by aprinter linked to the designated computer. Thus, for example, if theuser knows the account number of the recipient of the gift certificate,the user may purchase the gift certificate and designate the recipient'saccount as the designated computer. Accordingly, the gift certificatewill be electronically sent to the recipient's computer, orelectronically added to the recipient's account while electronicallyinforming the recipient of the transaction. Therefore, the user will nothave to mail the certificate to the recipient.

[0048] It should also be realized that the user will be credited awardpoints corresponding to the price of the gift certificate purchased.Thus, while the recipient will receive the gift certificate forpurchases, the user will receive the award points. In addition, the usermay use award points from his account as payment for the purchasing of agift certificate; thus effectively making the award points available forpurchases by a recipient. This can be used to entice unenrolledrecipients to join the program.

[0049] When a user selects PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300 (e.g., from SELECTIONMENU 40 or from SELECTION MENU 110), the program proceeds through toSELECTION MENU 310, shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, SELECTION MENU 310 isshown as three consecutive decision points. This represents thestructure in the preferred embodiment wherein each of the options shownbranching from the three decision points are available for selectionfrom PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300.

[0050] SELECTION MENU 310 allows the user to exit the program, go toPRODUCT Ai HOMEPAGE 100A (from which program would proceed to Ai in FIG.2), go to the BROWSING OPTION 60, learn about the award program byselecting ABOUT AWARD PROGRAM 320, apply for membership by selectingMEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 250 (see, FIGS. 2 and 5), review the user'saccount by selecting the FREQUENCY DATA BASE 340, or review the awardscatalog by selecting AWARD CATALOG HOMEPAGE 400 (shown in FIG. 4). Uponselecting FREQUENCY DATABASE 340, the user will be prompted to enter theaccount number, the identification code, or both at step 350. In theprogram of the present invention, the account number and theidentification code are linked together, for the user for which they areavailable. Thus, when a user account is established in the frequencydatabase, data is included to link the user's account number to theuser's identification code. (It should be noted that account number canrefer to a credit card account number, an account number internal to theprogram, etc.)

[0051] If the user has entered the internet via an on-line provider 10,his credit card account number can be obtained on-line from the on-lineprovider. Therefore, rather than prompting the user to enter his creditcard account number or his program account number, the credit cardaccount number can be obtained on-line from the on-line provider, andthe account can be matched against the accounts in the frequencydatabase. If a match is obtained, the program account number can be readfrom the frequency database. However, for security purposes, it ispreferable that the program will not proceed to step 360 to display theaccount information before the user has been prompted and has entered atleast the correct identification code at step 350, which is matched withthe account number.

[0052] If the user selects AWARD CATALOG HOMEPAGE 400 processingproceeds to the routine shown in FIG. 4. In the preferred embodimentseveral options are available for viewing the award catalog. This isrepresented by the SELECTION MENU 410, although those skilled in the artwould recognize that other processing can be provided for viewing theaward catalog. As shown in FIG. 4, at least two options are madeavailable by SELECTION MENU 410: SHOW QUALIFIED AWARDS 420 (showncontinuing at branch E) and VIEWING OPTIONS 450. QUALIFIED AWARDS 420allows the user a quick access to viewing all the awards the user isqualified for. VIEWING OPTIONS 450 allows the user to view the awardsaccording to the order selected by the user.

[0053] If the user selects QUALIFIED AWARDS 420, the frequency databaseis accessed to determine the award point, 425 thereafter, the entireaward catalog is scanned and a qualified awards database is created forthe particular number of award points read from the user's account, 430.Thereafter, the first page of the first award is displayed, 435, and theuser can browse through the catalog created in step 430. Alternatively,the user can select QUALIFIED AWARD OPTION 440 for different options ofarranging and viewing the qualified awards catalog. These options canbe, for example, by alphabetical order, by brands, by product, etc.

[0054] While the above method of displaying the qualified awards isworkable, it may take too much time to scan all the awards in order to“custom” build a qualified awards catalog. Therefore, other alternativesmay be used for creating the qualified award catalog. According to thepreferred alternative, point levels are defined. For example, pointlevel 1 can include all awards of value up to 500 points, point level 2,up to 1000 points, etc. When the user's account is read at 425, thehighest point level the user is qualified for is determined. At thispoint a message may be displayed such as “You are qualified for pointlevel 3 and have additional 350 points in your account. To qualify forpoint level 4 you will need 150 additional points.”

[0055] If memory size is not a problem, different libraries can bestored, each corresponding to a certain point level. Thus, for example,award library 1 can include all the awards which can be redeemed by anumber of points defined by point level 1. In the above example, awardlibrary 1 will include all awards worth up to 500 points. Thus, when thepoint level of the user is determined, all the awards in thecorresponding library are made accessible as qualified awards. Thisallow for fast access, since the step 430 of creating the qualifiedcatalog is skipped. However, such system may require large amount ofmemory, since many libraries may be needed to store the various awardsof different point levels.

[0056] In the preferred embodiment the award libraries are arranged in aprogressive manner, so as to avoid the need for a large memory size. Theabove example of the point levels will be used to explain this feature.Using the above example, award library 1 should include all awards worthup to 500 points. Award library 2 should include all awards worth from501-1000 points, etc. Thus, if the user is qualified, for example, forpoint level 2, access is made to award libraries 1 and 2. Thus,duplication of awards in the various libraries is prevented.

[0057] A further option would be to flag the various awards according tothe point level for which they are qualified. Accordingly, when thepoint level of the user has been determined, the awards are scanned forthe appropriate flag and the qualified award library is created in thismanner. While this feature does not eliminate step 430, the qualifiedaward library can be built in less time than by scanning the requiredpoints and comparing each required point to the available points.

[0058] By selecting VIEWING OPTIONS 450, the user may set the order inwhich to view the awards. Thus, for example, the user may view theawards by alphabetical order, enter a ceiling point number for viewingall awards up to that ceiling, view awards by product or brand, etc. Theaward catalog of the program of the preferred embodiment includes afeature whereby when a particular award is shown, it includesinformation regarding how many points are required to redeem thatparticular award, and how many points the user is short of in order toredeem that particular award.

[0059] To implement the above mentioned feature, the program accessesthe user's account in the frequency database and reads the amount ofaward points the user has in his account. Then, whenever the programdisplays a particular product, the program subtracts the number ofpoints available in the user's account from the number of pointsrequired to redeem the award. The result is displayed as the number ofpoints the user is short of to redeem that award. Of course, if the useris not enrolled in the program or does not have any award points in hisaccount, the number of points the user is short of will be equal to thenumber of points required to redeem the award. An exemplary flow chartis shown in FIG. 6.

[0060] Another particular feature for viewing the award catalog is shownin FIG. 4. The user is provided with an access to the frequency databasevia FREQUENCY DATABASE 460. While in FIG. 4 FREQUENCY DATABASE 460 isshown to proceed from VIEWING OPTION 450, it would be appreciated thataccess to the frequency database and the routine of the featuredescribed below can be provided in other places in the program.

[0061] Upon accessing the frequency database, the user may view theaccount to verify the amount of redeemable points recorded therein.Thereafter, the user may enter any ceiling awards points of the user'schoice, 470, for viewing the awards worth up to that ceiling, 475.Processing for displaying the qualified awards can then proceed as shownin steps 435, 440, and 500 in branch E of FIG. 4.

[0062] In the preferred embodiment, the user may enter the REDEEMroutine 500 at any point in the program. In FIG. 4 this feature isrepresented by the several REDEEM 500 selections depicted at many pointsof the program. When entering the REDEEM routine, the user may beprompted to enter the account number, the identification code or both,510. This is similar to the description provided with respect to step350 in FIG. 3. Thus, only the identification code may be required ifon-line access was gained via an on-line provider. Thereafter, theproper award to be redeemed is determined.

[0063] It should be noted that if the REDEEM 500 step has been enteredinto from an award page, the award described in that particular page maybe automatically read into the REDEEM 500 routine as the selected award.However, the user may be prompted to verify that this is the correctaward he wished to redeem and enter appropriate selections, such ascolor, size, etc. Otherwise, the user may simply be prompted to enterthe award by, for example, an award code. It should also be noted thatif the user has designated the ceiling award points, the user's accountneeds to be accessed to verify that the user has sufficient points toredeem the chosen award, 515.

[0064] The proper amount of points is then subtracted from the user'saccount and an adjustment is made in the frequency database, 520. A linkis then established to the fulfillment house or directly to the productmanufacturer and an award order is communicated, 530. Thereafter, theprogram returns to the PROGRAM HOMEPAGE 300.

[0065] In the description of the preferred embodiment, the term “user”also refers to merchants, product manufacturers, award programadministrators, etc. These particular users may be provided with aspecial access code. Upon entering the special code, these particularusers may be provided with a privileged access to the program whichallows them to make limited changes to the data. Thus, for example, amerchant may use this special access to change a price charged for aparticular product. Similarly, a program administrator may gainprivileged access to enter newly added awards available through theprogram. In addition, in the preferred embodiment a report is generatedupon each privileged entry so that the changes made can be monitored.

[0066] Certain variations would be apparent to those skilled in the art,which variations are considered within the spirit and scope of theclaimed invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An internet-based product marketing incentive system comprising: a product presentation web page constructed and arranged to present a user with information relating to one or more products available for purchase by the user; a product selection link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select a product presented on said product presentation web page for purchase, wherein the user is issued award points in connection with purchasing the product selected with said product selection link; and an award presentation web page constructed and arranged to present the user with information relating to one or more awards for which the user can exchange award points.
 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a product purchase link constructed and arranged to enable the user to purchase the product selected with said product selection link.
 3. The system of claim 2, said product purchase link comprising means enabling the user to purchase merchandise selected with said product selection link.
 4. The system of claim 2, said product purchase link comprising means for calculating the number of award points to be issued to the user when the user purchases the product with said product purchase link and for issuing the award points to the user after the user purchases the product with said product purchase link.
 5. The system of claim 1, said product presentation web page being constructed and arranged to present the user with information relating to merchandise available for purchase.
 6. The system of claim 1, further comprising an award selection link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select an award presented on said award presentation web page to exchange for a corresponding number of award points issued to the user.
 7. The system of claim 1, further comprising an award points database web page constructed and arranged to provide the user with information relating to award points issued to the user.
 8. An internet-based product marketing incentive system comprising: a product presentation navigation link constructed and arranged to be activated by a user and direct the user to a product presentation web page which presents the user with information relating to one or more products available for purchase by the user; a product selection link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select a product presented on said product presentation web page for purchase, wherein the user is issued award points in connection with purchasing the product selected with said product selection link; and an award presentation navigation link constructed and arranged to be activated by the user and direct the user to an award presentation web page which presents the user with information relating to one or more awards for which the user can exchange award points.
 9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a product purchase link constructed and arranged to enable the user to purchase the product selected with said product selection link.
 10. The system of claim 9, said product purchase link comprising means enabling the user to purchase merchandise selected with said product selection link.
 11. The system of claim 9, said product purchase link comprising means for calculating the number of award points to be issued to the user when the user purchases the product with said product purchase link and for issuing the award points to the user after the user purchases the product with said product purchase link.
 12. The system of claim 8, said product presentation web page being constructed and arranged to present the user with information relating to merchandise available for purchase.
 13. The system of claim 8, further comprising an award selection link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select an award presented on said award presentation web page to exchange for a number of award points issued to the user.
 14. The system of claim 8, further comprising an award points database navigation link constructed and arranged to be activated by the user and direct the user to an award points database web page which provides the user with information relating to award points issued to the user.
 15. A method for providing an internet-based product marketing incentive system comprising: providing a product presentation navigation link that can be activated by a user to direct the user to a product presentation web page which presents the user with information relating to one or more products available for purchase by the user; providing a product selection link that enables the user to select a product presented on the product presentation web page for purchase; issuing award points to the user in connection with purchasing the product selected with the product selection link; and providing an award presentation navigation link that can be activated by the user to direct the user to an award presentation web page which presents the user with information relating to one or more awards for which the user can exchange award points.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing a product purchase link that enables the user to purchase the product selected with the product selection link.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein providing the product purchase link comprises enabling the user to purchase merchandise selected with the product selection link.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein providing the product purchase link comprises calculating the number of award points to be issued to the user when the user purchases the product with the product purchase link and issuing the award points to the user after the user purchases the product with the product purchase link.
 19. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing an award selection link that enables the user to select an award presented on said award presentation web page to exchange for a number of award points issued to the user.
 20. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing an award points database navigation link that can be activated by the user to direct the user to an award points database web page which provides the user with information relating to award points issued to the user.
 21. An internet-based product marketing incentive system comprising: product presentation means for presenting a user with information relating to one or more products available for purchase by the user; product selection means for enabling the user to select a product presented on said product presentation means for purchase, wherein the user is issued award points in connection with purchasing the product selected with said product selection means; and award presentation means for presenting the user with information relating to one or more awards for which the user can exchange award points.
 22. The system of claim 21, further comprising a product purchase means for enabling the user to purchase the product selected with said product selection means.
 23. The system of claim 22, said product purchase means comprising means enabling the user to purchase merchandise selected with said product selection means.
 24. The system of claim 22, said product purchase means comprising means for calculating the number of award points to be issued to the user when the user purchases the product with said product purchase means and for issuing the award points to the user after the user purchases the product with said product purchase means.
 25. The system of claim 1, further comprising award selection means enabling the user to select an award presented on said award presentation means to exchange for a corresponding number of award points issued to the user.
 26. The system of claim 1, further comprising an award points means for providing the user with information relating to award points issued to the user.
 27. An internet-based product marketing incentive system comprising: a product presentation web page constructed and arranged to present a user with information relating to one or more products available for purchase by the user; a product selection link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select a product presented on said product presentation web page for purchase, wherein the user is issued award points in connection with purchasing the product selected with said product selection link; an award presentation web page constructed and arranged to present the user with information relating to one or more awards for which the user can exchange award points; and an award selection link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select an award presented on said award presentation web page to exchange for a corresponding number of award points issued to the user.
 28. An internet-based product marketing incentive system comprising: a product presentation web page constructed and arranged to present a user with information relating to one or more products available for purchase by the user; a product selection link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select a product presented on said product presentation web page for purchase, wherein the user is issued award points in connection with purchasing the product selected with said product selection link; an award presentation web page constructed and arranged to present the user with information relating to one or more awards for which the user can exchange award points; an award selection link constructed and arranged to enable the user to select an award presented on said award presentation web page to exchange for a corresponding number of award points issued to the user; and an award points database web page constructed and arranged to provide the user with information relating to award points issued to the user. 